1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for the management of on-street parking spaces.
2. Description of the Related Art
In cities, the scarcity of available parking spaces, particularly on streets, is a permanent challenge and a source of concern for both local authorities and users.
In parking facilities such as underground car parks or multi-storey car parks, the improvement of parking management by equipping each parking space with a vehicle presence sensor is known.
Thus, at any time, the operator of the facility is aware of the exact occupancy status of each parking space and can guide users entering the facility towards empty spaces using appropriate signage means. That service is generally greatly appreciated by users.
However, the system cannot be transferred to on-street parking. That is because it would be too expensive to equip parking spaces with such occupancy or presence sensors. Further, an additional difficulty arises out of the fact that on-street parking spaces do not use specific infrastructure (connection to power supply, connection to communication systems) that allows the installation of a network of sensors for an acceptable cost. Also, the costs of maintaining and managing such a network would be very high.
Lastly, such sensors would be subjected to very severe climatic conditions that would make it necessary to protect them, for a cost that would be prohibitive.
In order to remedy that problem, the use of sensors already installed on vehicles to detect free on-street parking spaces has been proposed, for example in document DE 10 2012 222 810. Today, automobiles are increasingly equipped with sensors that are integrated into driver aid systems (parking assist, lane monitoring, lateral overtaking warning, automatic lamp switch-on systems etc.), such as for example front or rear cameras, radars, ultrasound sensors etc. These sensors use appropriate software to detect objects in the environment of the vehicle, particularly other vehicles.
Thus, for example, when a car parks in a parallel parking space, a vehicle sensor can detect if there is a vehicle in front of or behind the car, and thus if there are free parking spaces in the vicinity of the car that is being parked or is parked.
The information collected about unoccupied parking spaces is sent via a wireless communication interface to a central server. Then the server can be queried by users to find parking spaces when they arrive at their destinations.
However, that known system has a drawback: communication with the server is not secure, which leads to problems in terms of the protection of privacy and data theft. Indeed, the system as presented in document DE 10 2012 222 810 appears vulnerable to fraudulent manipulations aimed, for example, at claiming that a parking space is occupied, when in fact it is free. Such manoeuvres could be used to reserve one or more or even all spaces. For the operator in charge of managing on-street parking, that would represent a shortfall in revenue, as the system would not direct vehicles to that space or those spaces when queried.